Williams, 27, alleges in a multi-million dollar suit in Alameda County Superior Court that Romanowski, 38, ended his pro football career by hitting him in a practice field incident at Raiders facilities in Alameda on Aug. 24, 2003.

Rice, pro football's all-time leader for most pass receptions and most touchdowns, was subpoenaed as the last witness in the three-week-long trial and closing arguments were set for tomorrow.

Dressed in a light green suit and a black shirt and sporting an earring, Rice said football is a game of respect and he believes players should respect their opponents and not "show anyone up."

In brief testimony lasting only about 10 minutes, Rice said, "I played the game the way it was supposed to be played" and never got in fights because he didn't want to put his team "in a predicament."

Rice, who lives in Menlo Park, said Williams was "a quiet guy" who "just went about his business."

Rice said Williams was fast but showed his competitive side by saying, "I could take him man to man" because he thought he was faster.

In his opening statement in the case two weeks ago, Williams' attorney, James Brosnahan, said Romanowski's punch shattered Williams' left orbital socket and caused Williams to suffer mild traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.

Romanowski's lawyer, Jeffrey Springer, said in his opening statement that Romanowski, 38, was wrong to punch Williams in the face, but Romanowski lashed out because he thought Williams had held him and hit him when he was out of bounds in a practice play just before the incident.

Brosnahan says Williams had a promising career, but Springer alleges that Williams was a marginal player who is now looking for an illegitimate payday.

Williams had been a special teams player on the 2002 Raiders team that went to the Super Bowl, playing on kickoffs and punt returns. He also was a reserve tight end, but he never played on regular plays from scrimmage.

In videotaped depositions played in court this week, former Raiders coach Bill Romanowski and former Raiders executive Bruce Allen both said they didn't think that Williams would have made the 2003 team even if he hadn't been injured in the fight.

During his career, Romanowski played for the San Francisco 49ers, Denver Broncos and the Philadelphia Eagles as well as the Raiders, earning four Super Bowl rings and making two Pro Bowl all-star games.

Outside court, Rice told reporters that "there are certain boundaries you don't cross" and he can't condone what Romanowski did.

"I would never do that," Rice said.

Rice said he was a reluctant witness because, "You never want to see a situation like this," referring to the fact that the case went to trial.

He said he had hoped the case would have been settled out of court.

Rice said, "Romanowski was a great football player but you also have to look at what happened to Marcus Williams."

Rice said that even if Williams had been cut by the Raiders, he might have had a chance to be picked up by another team.

"Football is a game of opportunity and if you don't make it on one team you might get picked up by someone else."